Tuesday, December 24, 2019

The Birth Of Virtual Teams - 2759 Words

Abstract Teams have always contributed significantly towards the successful operation of any organization. Traditionally, team members had to endure the challenges of time, distance, and even cultural differences in order to successfully complete a team activity. However, recent advancements in technology have led to the birth of virtual teams. The paper aims to explore the effectiveness and differences ofvirtual teamsas compared to face-to-face teams. The evaluation will be on the basis of dimensions such as performance, cohesion, conflict, trust and satisfaction among others. Introduction Due to the recent increased utilization of information communication technology in organizations, there has been a rising trend of the adoption of virtual teams. These teams have helped organizations conduct their businesses in a very effective way. In furtherance of that, these teams have also helped in enhancing the speed at which communication is carried out. For instance, team members in different countries or continents can actually contribute ideas for a project in real time via electronic means (Hendrickson, 1998). However, these groups have faced some criticisms which have made them to be underutilized. Some of the issues raised against these teams include lack of involvement and inclusiveness, lack of trust, lack of employees with technical and interpersonal skills and lack of cohesion among others. Past research has revealed that virtual teams have proved to be effective,Show MoreRelatedVirtual Team And Its Advantages And Disadvantages1302 Words   |  6 PagesVirtual Tea m and Its Advantages and Disadvantages During the last decade, organizations have been working more with technology making it their master. Technology is not only about new equipment; it is mostly about new ideas and techniques used. Virtual team is a new approach used today. Virtual groups or teams have been used from parent to keep contact with teacher to corporations to create new international business relationships. How far can virtual team be more efficient than face to face relationshipsRead MoreThe New Virtual Office Environment1236 Words   |  5 PagesIntroduction Often time people find themselves working at odd hours of the day or night in order to connect with their teams around the globe. Meetings and conference calls are a necessity to conduct business and expand operations; however, in order to meet this need more and more employees are working virtually. Conference calls are conducted from home, airports, and automobiles. On-line meetings can be held using applications such as Microsoft Lync that have audio and video capabilities. ScreenRead MoreThe Father Of The Nintendo Game Boy : Gunpei Yokoi1610 Words   |  7 Pagesinvention that is so recognizable by practically everyone because of how dominant in the handheld games market it had been for almost two decades bulldozing over any competition, and that invention was the Nintendo Game Boy, and the man who was behind the birth of the little handheld that could was Gunpei Yokoi. To me as a gamer, Gunpei Yokoi changed the face of gaming forever, and left behind a legacy of achievements in the video game industry. Gunpei Yokoi: Early Career At Nintendo: Gunpei Yokoi was bornRead MoreMy Virtual Child Paper1166 Words   |  5 PagesMy Virtual Child Paper My virtual child covers physical, social, emotional, and cognitive development at several age levels. This gave me an opportunity to visualize the whole child at various points in development. I raised a virtual child from birth to 18 years of age. Each virtual child has a unique set of characteristics at birth, some of which were influenced by how I answered the assessment I completed when I first logged onto My Virtual Child. These characteristics gradually emerged andRead MoreReady Player One By Ernest Cline984 Words   |  4 Pagescentered around a hunt for a fortune that the founder of a virtual world has left that can be unlocked by clues winning games. The winner will have massive power fortune. The influence of space is great because of how the OASIS world affects Wade, how the Playstation virtual world affects me, how gender codes affect you. In Ready Player One, the main character, Wade Watts, is affected by the virtual world, OASIS. OASIS is a virtual world where you can be anything you want to be. At first,Read MoreInstruction Set Computing Essay1157 Words   |  5 Pagestechniques, the exploitation of instruction-level parallelism and the use of caches. The RISC-based computers improved system performance by raising performance bar, forcing prior architectures to keep up or disappear. Hence, the Digital Equipment Virtual Address eXtension (VAX) could not keep up the challenge, and was replaced by RISC architecture. Intel rose to the challenge, by translating 80x86 instructions into RISC-like instructions internally. It adopted many of the innovations first initiatedRead MoreTechnology Is Evolving Every Single Day Essay1696 Words   |  7 Pagesbeneficial aspects of gaming. The videogames today can stimulate the brain in ways that can greatly help a person gain more knowledge and skills. Many people use entertainment to distract themselves from their average day-to-day lives. Ever since the birth of a console many choose gaming as a way to escape reality in order to lose focus on their daily lives for a few hours. Today’s video games have evolved drastically compared to how they were once in the past; video games are now more immersive thanRead MoreMedical Illustration: From Drawings To Digital. Hippocrates,1540 Words   |  7 Pagesmastering the balance between artistic skill and medical knowledge (Medical Illustration: Art in Medical Education). Incidentally, Max’s legacy was the establishment of the first school of medical illustrators at Johns Hopkins; his school inspired the birth of illustration programs in the United States and Canada. His institutions have paved the way for medical illustration programs and the advancement in education of graphic design students nationwide. In the days of Brà ¶del medically based illustratorsRead MoreNintendo s Impact On The Video Game Industry With Evr Race1212 Words   |  5 Pagesremade and launched in North America as the Nintendo Entertainment System, or the NES. The console’s success led to the help of creating Super Mario Bros., one of the best-selling and popular video games of history. In 1988, Gunpei Yokoi and his team came up with the idea of the Game Boy handheld system. Its purpose was to combine the Game Watch’s portability and the Nintendo Entertainment System’s (NES) cartridge interchangeability. Nintendo released the Game Boy in Japan on April 1, 1989 andRead MoreA Review of Related Literature on the Role of Trust in Global Virtual Teams1791 Words   |  8 Pagessuccess of the company. Thus the birth of virtual teams. A virtual team is a group of people who communicate to other virtual teams across the world through the internet whether it be through Skype, email, etc. Virtual teams are â€Å" a self -managed knowledge work team, with distributed expertise, that forms and disbands to address a specific organizational goal.† (Kristof et al. 1995, p. 230) On the other hand, trust, which is a term commonly used for virtual teams is basically, based on, and described

Monday, December 16, 2019

Mcdonald’s Environmental Factors Free Essays

McDonald’s: A Giant Marketing Success Story in APA style (your name) (your school) McDonald’s 2 Abstract When it comes to marketing a business domestically and globally, a lot of environmental factors come into play. These can involve finances of a foreign country, customs, culture, and trends. McDonald’s has been a worldwide corporate success, and much of this success has been due to their marketing decisions. We will write a custom essay sample on Mcdonald’s Environmental Factors or any similar topic only for you Order Now Here, we will find out what exactly McDonald’s has done to beat the competition and grow as a company worldwide. McDonald’s 3 Worldwide, Ronald McDonald is one of the most recognizable characters to this day. The first McDonalds opened in 1937 (Colonel 66, 2003). In just a little over seventy years, McDonalds has become one of the biggest corporations in the world. This success did not happen overnight. McDonalds has made great decisions in marketing and advertising over the years. There are many factors that contribute to global and domestic marketing, and McDonalds has seemed to tackle each and every one. When McDonalds first launched, the two McDonald brothers had to decide how to market their product. The environment and culture of the United States during the 50’s were becoming more and more fast-paced. People wanted quality food for a good price and in a timely manner. The McDonald brothers then came to the idea of using the new technology of assembly lines in order to make quick hamburgers (Wikipedia, 2008). Soon, word of mouth spread the popularity of cheaper hamburgers and faster service compared to traditional diners. During the beginning of the McDonalds legacy, the United States was booming with new technology and a faster-paced lifestyle, and McDonalds learned how to incorporate this with their marketing. Soon after, in 1955, Ray Kroc took interest in the McDonald restaurant and established the McDonald’s System, Inc (Wikipedia, 2008). This served as the legal structure for the entrepreneur’s planned franchises. It wasn’t long before the McDonald brothers sold their business rights to Ray Kroc. Although the brothers may have founded the idea of assembly line burgers and fries, Ray Kroc had the marketing plans to take McDonalds into the global direction. McDonald’s 4 As the baby boom began, and families seemed to revolve around the busy lifestyle of work and taking care of children, Ray Kroc decided to market McDonalds to children. It’s not surprising that after the Great Depression subsided, family became the focal point in the American environment. Marketers of McDonalds were smart to hire Willard Scott, formerly known as Bozo the Clown, to play the role of Ronald McDonald (Wikipedia, 2008). The idea of Ronald McDonald stuck, and a few years later, the whole family of McDonaldland was developed. These characters enticed children, and after the hard times America endured, American parents wanted to make their children happy. It is no wonder McDonalds became a nationwide success. After becoming a phenomenon in the United States, McDonalds had to deal with global marketing and different environments and cultures in foreign countries in order to grow. When expanding to another nation, a company must have a deep knowledge of the needs of potential customers. Culture and custom plays a big role in marketing for any company, and McDonalds has achieved success despite many environmental factors in different nations. In India, many people are vegetarians due to religious beliefs. This may seem like a dead-end to a fast-food restaurant that specializes in hamburgers, but McDonalds developed the â€Å"Maharaja McBurger,† in Indian stores. This is a burger made from assorted vegetables and mayonnaise prepared without eggs (Associated Content, 2005). In addition, McDonalds has promoted various items throughout the world to celebrate McDonald’s 5 foreignevents. For instance, in China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Singapore, McDonalds sells a â€Å"Prosperity Burger† during the Chinese new-year (Associated Content, 2005). In addition to culture, financial situations in different countries also affect the way McDonalds operates. It would be impossible to have a set value for a Big Mac worldwide. Instead, McDonalds compares prices to local competitors in order to set their prices. This makes McDonalds infamous burgers affordable to most everybody in a variety of different nations. Technology has also played a big role in the global market for McDonalds. China’s first drive thru opened in December of 2005 by McDonalds. This new dining experience excited the Chinese as well as confused them. It took a strong team to teach employees how to conduct traffic through the drive thru (McDonalds Corporation, 2005). The success of McDonalds is greatly impacted by staying up to date with technology and equipment in all of their stores. While marketing in terms of profit, a company must also look into social and ethic behaviors. It’s not enough to provide a great product if the customers do not approve the methods of production. This has been a huge factor for McDonalds. One of the biggest social issues tied to McDonalds in the United States is obesity. According to Michael Russell (2006) over 60 million people are obese. McDonalds has been a target of concern for unhealthy eating habits. As a result, marketing turned away from the traditional core products of McDonalds: the hamburgers, shakes, and fries. Instead, McDonalds has focused attention on new, healthier products such as salads and fresh fruit. This healthful concern McDonald’s 6 even spreads over to the United Kingdom. Shiv Singh (2008) reports that McDonalds has launched a new national advertising campaign. These advertisements show parents that only healthy, high quality ingredients are used in Happy Meals. It’s clear that the marketing giant McDonalds is staying on consumer trends in all nations. To conclude, McDonalds has shown a successful path in marketing. Their decisions have been based on local culture and environment, and it’s shown that McDonalds has a deep understanding for the concept of environmental marketing. By treating each location as a local focal point, McDonalds has succeeded in becoming the global corporation that it is today. McDonald’s 7 References Associated Content (2005, March 3). McDonald’s Strategic Marketing Mix. Associated Content, Inc. Retrievedon July 30th 2008 from http://www. associatedcontent. com/article/263943/mcdonalds_strategic_marketing_mix. html? cat=4 McDonalds Press Release (2005, December 10). First McDonalds Drive-Thru Opens InChina. McDonalds, Inc Retrieved on July 30th, 2008 fromhttp://www. mcdonalds. com/corp/news/corppr/2005/cpr_12102005. tml Russel, Michael. (2006, May 21). Obesity in the United States. Ezine Articles. Retrieved on July 30th, 2008 from http://ezinearticles. com/? Obesity-In-The-United-States;id=202439 Singh, Shiv. (2008, July 1). McDonalds and Social Influence Marketing. Going Social Now. Retrieved on July 30th, 2008 from http://www. shivsingh. com/goingsocial/2008/07/heres-another-example-of-socia. html Wikipedia. (2008, July 1). History of McDonalds. Wikipedia, Inc. Retrieved on July 30th, 2008 from http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/History_of_McDonald’s How to cite Mcdonald’s Environmental Factors, Papers

Sunday, December 8, 2019

Great Organizational Structure and Culture - MyAssignmenthelp.com

Question: Discuss about the Great Organizational Structure and Culture. Answer: Introduction Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is a multinational retail corporation and the largest company by revenue in the world. It functions as a chain of grocery stores, hypermarket and discount department stores having its headquarters situated in Bentonville, Arkansas. Wal-Mart provides general merchandise for household needs, health and beauty aids, crafts, family apparel, electronics, fabrics, toys, lawn and garden, shoes and jewelry. Wal-Mart has its stores in different parts of the world including United States, United Kingdom, China, Brazil and many more. As the result of increased market opportunities and demand, the organization has decided to extend its operations in Saudi Arabia. As the newly appointed CEO for the Wal-Mart Stores Inc. in Kingdom of Saudi Arabia some considerations are required to be made in respect of organizational culture and ethics and laws which will structure the base of the organization. Functions served by the Organizational Culture of Wal-Mart Stores Inc. in Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Organizational culture of Wal-Mart is responsible for determining the way they respond to the various challenges that arises within the workplace. Wal-Mart requires a strong organizational culture base in order to establish its identity in Saudi Arabia. The flexibility experienced by the human resources of Wal-Mart is dependent to some extent on the outlook supported by its organizational culture (Lombardo, 2017). Moreover, the competitive advantage and success achieved in the international market by Wal-Mart over a period of time is the result of its organizational structure and organizational culture. In other words, organizational culture can play a boundary defining role for Wal-Mart by making it distinct from other organizations. The organizational culture must serve the function of enhancing the social system stability along with the holding of operations together by the way of providing appropriate standards for what the employees should say and do (Swiftutors, 2017). The components of the Wal-Marts organizational culture must perform the function of guiding the attitude and behavior of employees by the way of acting as a sense making and control mechanisms. These components must also highlight the Wal-Marts beliefs such as action with integrity, respect for an individual, service to customers and strive for excellence. Wal-Mart need to identify the contribution made by each employee in order to achieve success of the business. Therefore, it conveys a sense of identity for the employees of the organization. The organizational culture of Wal-Mart must facilitate the generation of commitment among the employees for giving their best in order to achieve the organizational goal leaving behind their individual self-interest. Moreover, the business of Wal-Mart is based on the morals and values. The customs and rules are grounded on the value of respect for the suppliers, customers and associates which has enabled it to become one of the most admired companies (Bizfluent, 2017). Ethics and Laws within Wal-Mart Wal-Marts culture of integrity is promoted by global ethics and includes the development and upholding of various policies for the purpose of ensuring ethical behavior for all its stakeholders in every country where it operates. It includes raising of awareness regarding the ethics policies and provision of networks to the stakeholders in order to enable them to bring ethical concern in their notice (Walmart, 2017). Global ethics guides Wal-Mart in ethical decision making, provides a confidential and trustworthy system of reporting along with leading to a continuous communication system and ethics education. Wal-Mart promotes integrity in day- to- day behavior by the way of building a universally stable ethics education experience for associates and incorporating ethics content into current functional-area training. Wal-Mart has currently executed a consistent education program in the United States and is taking steps in order to expand instructor-led training and e-learning all around the world (Farfan, 2017). Wal-Mart makes the use of a Statement of Ethics in order to create an honest, fair and objective workplace including the procedure for reporting and raising concerns regarding the violation of ethics without disclosing the name. The Statement of Ethics is applicable at all the levels of the organization and even to the Board of Directors. Moreover, in addition to the Statement of Ethics, Wal-Mart takes care of the compliance with all the applicable local laws, rules and regulations. They are committed to act in accordance with various applicable laws and regulations related to wages and working hours, fair competition and dealing, money-laundering laws, immigration laws, product and food safety laws, trade laws, health and safety laws and many other laws as per the requirements specified by different countries (Walmart Ethics, 2017). Wal-Mart also organizes Integrity in Action Award Program for the purpose of recognizing those associates who becomes an inspiration for other associates by doing the right things and demonstrating integrity through consistent words and actions (Wohl, 2012). Conclusion The establishment of Wal-Mart Stores Inc. in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has a variety of opportunities to be grabbed due to total reliance of the customers on the company. This necessitates Wal-Mart Stores in Saudi Arabia to have even stronger organizational culture and ethics in order to achieve success in the new market. The employees concerns regarding the low wages are required to be addressed on time so as to keep them motivated to work hard in order to enable the organization to meet new heights in Saudi Arabia. The competition in the market can only be defeated with the proper support of the employees which is the strongest asset of the organization. A great organizational culture will require transparency at its priority and make the employees feel a sense of belonging to the organization with the help of improved communication and collaboration (Driskill Brenton, 2010). Moreover, the moral concerns of Wal-Mart can only be addressed with the help of business ethics and laws . Ethics and law plays a very important role in governing the customer relations as well as in governing employee relations (Morley, 2017). The organizational culture adopted for establishing business in Saudi Arabia is expected to bring outstanding results for Wal-Mart Stores Inc. which will establish its business in the new market. It must aim to contribute better job satisfaction of the employees in order to contribute towards their happiness (Indeed, 2016). On the other hand, ethics and law will ensure the culture of integrity within Wal-Mart in the day to day operations with on time reporting of any wrong practices being undertaken within organization. The compliance with the laws of Kingdom of Saudi Arabia will allow the smooth functioning of the organization without any uncertain circumstances which may cause the hindrance of the normal working of the Wal-Mart internal functions. References Farfan, B. 2017. Another Day, Another Walmart Class Action Employee Lawsuit, [Online]. Available at: https://www.thebalance.com/walmart-classic-action-employee-lawsuits-3974960 [Accessed on: 5 December 2017]. Indeed. 2016. 3 Examples of Great Organizational Culture You Can Learn From, [Online]. Available at: https://blog.indeed.com/2016/09/21/build-great-organizational-culture/ [Accessed on: 5 December 2017]. Lombardo, J. 2017. Walmart: Organizational Structure Organizational Culture, [Online]. Available at: https://panmore.com/walmart-organizational-structure-organizational-culture [Accessed on: 5 December 2017]. Morley, M. 2017. Roles That Ethics Laws Play in an Organization, [Online]. Available at: https://smallbusiness.chron.com/roles-ethics-laws-play-organization-20434.html [Accessed on: 5 December 2017]. Swiftutors. 2017. Organizational Culture, [Online]. Available at: https://www.swiftutors.com/behaviors/organizational-culture.php [Accessed on: 5 December 2017]. Walmart Ethics. 2017. Global Statement of Ethics, [Online]. Available at: https://www.walmartethics.com/uploadedFiles/Content/U.S.%20-%20English.pdf [Accessed on: 5 December 2017]. Walmart. 2017. Ethics Integrity, [Online]. Available at: https://corporate.walmart.com/our-story/ethics-integrity [Accessed on: 5 December 2017]. Wohl, J. 2012. Wal-Mart urges worker integrity amid bribery probe, [Online]. Available at: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-walmart-meeting-international/wal-mart-urges-worker-integrity-amid-bribery-probe-idUSBRE84T11I20120530 [Accessed on: 5 December 2017].